Euthanasia 'tourists,' including children, flock to Catholic-majority Belgium where assisted suicide is free and easy

Protesters demonstrate against the law authorising euthanasia for children, in Brussels on Feb. 11, 2014. Reuters

It's free, easy ... and deadly indeed.

That's how physician-assisted suicide looks like in Belgium, ironically a Catholic-majority European nation. Patients—including children—suffering from terminal diseases or psychiatric conditions have been flocking to the European country to have their wish of ending their misery fulfilled. The patients are killed with a lethal injection administered by a doctor.

Doctors at hospitals and clinics in Brussels, the Belgian capital, are seeing an increase in number of euthanasia "tourists" who come from all over the world, mostly from neighbouring France, the International Business Times (IBT) reports.

At Belgium's Brugmann University hospital, Dr. Oliver Vermylen said nearly half of the euthanasia patients come from France, where elective medical killings are illegal.

"It's a phenomenon that did not exist five or six years ago. Nowadays I get phone calls about French people who arrive in the emergency room announcing that they want euthanasia," Vermylen told Belgium's Sudpresse newspaper, The Times reports.

Belgium has the world's most liberal law on physician-assisted suicide, which is not just for the terminally ill, according to PBS Newshour.

Patients – even children – with psychiatric conditions can request euthanasia, a hospital service that enjoys overwhelming public support as surveys have shown, PBS reports.

Many doctors say it gives patients with constant and unbearable suffering a practical and humane way to die peacefully, it adds.

What draws many of the world's patients to Belgium is the fact that euthanasia in this country is usually free since the treatment is covered by the European Union's health insurance card, according to IBT. The patients' bills are simply sent to French healthcare providers.

Last year, IBT reported that 2,023 patients availed themselves of assisted suicide in Belgium, noting that the number has more than doubled in five years.

Belgium legalised euthanasia in May 2002. In 2013, the Belgium government broadened the law to include children, CBN News reports.

related articles
Legalising assisted suicide will \'hide killing with euphemisms,\' Canada\'s Catholic leader says
Legalising assisted suicide will 'hide killing with euphemisms,' Canada's Catholic leader says

Legalising assisted suicide will 'hide killing with euphemisms,' Canada's Catholic leader says

The taking of human lives — legally and with doctors\' consent — has been made much easier in this European country
The taking of human lives — legally and with doctors' consent — has been made much easier in this European country

The taking of human lives — legally and with doctors' consent — has been made much easier in this European country

\'Path to self-destruction\': Catholic bishop blasts bills on physician-assisted suicides in New York
'Path to self-destruction': Catholic bishop blasts bills on physician-assisted suicides in New York

'Path to self-destruction': Catholic bishop blasts bills on physician-assisted suicides in New York

Canada\'s House of Commons passes medical assistance in dying bill
Canada's House of Commons passes medical assistance in dying bill

Canada's House of Commons passes medical assistance in dying bill

Belgian Catholic nursing home has to pay damages for refusing euthanasia
Belgian Catholic nursing home has to pay damages for refusing euthanasia

Belgian Catholic nursing home has to pay damages for refusing euthanasia

\'Doctors are healers, not killers\': U.S. Medical Association reaffirms opposition to physician-assisted suicide
'Doctors are healers, not killers': U.S. Medical Association reaffirms opposition to physician-assisted suicide

'Doctors are healers, not killers': U.S. Medical Association reaffirms opposition to physician-assisted suicide

Roman Catholic officials in Malta stand firm against pills that kill babies, euthanasia
Roman Catholic officials in Malta stand firm against pills that kill babies, euthanasia

Roman Catholic officials in Malta stand firm against pills that kill babies, euthanasia

News
Calls for urgent policy reforms to address widening marriage gap between rich and poor
Calls for urgent policy reforms to address widening marriage gap between rich and poor

A new report released by the Marriage Foundation has called for urgent policy changes by the government to address what it describes as a "calamitous" marriage gap of 51 per cent between wealthy and low-income couples.

Bear Grylls talks about faith in spite of doubts at Flame 2025
Bear Grylls talks about faith in spite of doubts at Flame 2025

Grylls described faith as an adventure and a journey.

Bible sales surge by 87% as Generation Z rediscovers faith
Bible sales surge by 87% as Generation Z rediscovers faith

Bible sales in the UK have risen sharply, increasing by 87 per cent from £2.69 million in 2019 to £5.02 million in 2024, according to new data from SPCK Group and Nielsen Book Data.

Lent and Ramadan have sparked complaints over the ‘woke’ storyline in BBC Radio drama The Archers
Lent and Ramadan have sparked complaints over the ‘woke’ storyline in BBC Radio drama The Archers

BBC Radio 4’s long-running rural drama The Archers has come under fire for its recent exploration of Ramadan, with many listeners criticising the decision to feature a Christian character, Lynda Snell, fasting in the run-up to Lent.